Connection
by karlkynsskor
Summary: Rose Lalonde has been living as the only child of a single parent family her whole life, and has accepted that. But a conversation with her mother changes this acceptance in a moment, and raises questions about her Mom's past. This is a Strider-Lalonde family fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Be the wordsmith Seer**

You're currently at your computer, writing the latest chapter of your in-progress novel. It's taking time, but it's slowly getting finished. You hope to have this chapter finished by-

"Roooosie, dinner!"

Your mother's voice floats up to you from downstairs, and you sigh. Lately she had decided to start cooking as yet another passive aggressive movement; however, for the time being, you were taking full advantage of this. It helped that she was actually a good cook.

"Coming, Mother," you call back, before saving your work and signing off your computer. After resetting your desk to hold some semblance of tidiness, you stand and make your way to the doorway, pausing with a hand on the light switch for a moment to survey your room. It was a bit of a mess, but this was nothing new. You deem it acceptable for the present time and flick off the lights before heading downstairs. The smell of your mother's cooking meets you.

She looks up with a smile as you enter the kitchen, looking as immaculate as ever. You were still trying to figure out how she managed to maintain her appearance while being constantly inebriated, but to no avail. Point to her.

She hands you a plate before piling it with at least twice the amount of food you would ever need to consume, with a side comment on you needing to eat to stay healthy. Well played. However, you can simply out play this by eating all of the meal. It's your favourite, and you were too busy to eat lunch, so this shouldn't be too difficult. You take your food to the bench and sit down, starting to eat as you watch your mother pour herself yet another martini. She seems slightly worried, something you've noticed throughout the day, but you had already given her a card and had since been ignoring it, reminding yourself that it was most likely nothing.

She picks up her own plate and makes her way over to sit next to you, and the two of you eat in silence. The air is tense though; you are waiting for her to make the first move. Your mother sips her glass, before placing it down with a sigh, turning to face you. You follow her lead and place your fork on the bench. Might as well give up any hopes of a normal dinner with no conversation.

"Is something the matter, Mother?" you inquire. She picks up the martini glass again, rubbing her thumb against it. She's dropped her eyes again.

"Yes...No. Nothing's _wrong_ really. Just-" she makes eye contact again. "Just this once I... I need this conversation to be, like, sincere. You need ta listen to me. Can you promise me that, Rosie?"

You raise an eyebrow. Well, this is new. She does look quite concerned, and it's piqued your interest, to say the least.

"Of course. You have my word."

She smiles slightly at that.

"Okay, well, guess I have no choice now then. It's probably high time I told you this, anyways. It's... Well it's about your father."

Your eyes widen. On the list of things you expected from this conversation, your missing father was not high at all. "Go on..."

"Well, me and him have been talking, you see. We kept in contact over the years."

"Wait. You told me you didn't know who he was, or where he was," you say, holding up a finger.

"Weeell, that may have been a tiny weeny little white lie? He's one of my closest friends, to tell you the truth. And... We've decided to give it a go. Being a family, that is. If it's okay with you."

You open your mouth to reply, but she places a finger on your lips. "Shush Rosie, please. Just let me finish. We were young, and we were scared, and we definitely weren't ready to be parents. So, we decided to go our separate ways, raise one kid each. But, we think it's time the both of you had a father and a mother, respectively. And we want to get back together. So..." she removes her hand from your mouth. "You can talk now."

"...Both of us? I have a sibling?" you ask, your brow furrowing. Not telling you about your father was one thing, but withholding information of a sibling was something else entirely. She has the grace to look sheepish.

"Yeah... A twin brother. We figured we'd have one each, do the best we could. But...what do you think? Do you want a dad?" she looks at you hopefully.

"I think... I think I'd like that. I'm really quite shocked that you'd think that that was the best course of action, though. Why?"

"As I said, we were both young. And when I say that, I mean really young. I was only sixteen, and he was the same, just slightly older. Way too young to make a family. But you want to meet him?"

"I...yes. I do. Both of them. What are their names?"

"Dirk. Dirk Strider. He's your dad. And then your brother is Dave." You slap a hand over your mouth, eyebrows lifted. "Rose, what's wrong?"

You stand up. "I- excuse me," you say, before briskly making your way up to your room. You close the door, leaning your head against it for a second, before locking it as you hear your mother start to follow you. Rushing to your computer, you log into Pesterchum. _Pleasebeonlinepleasepleasepl easeplease_. Thankfully, the person you're looking for's icon is green.

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 8:16

TT: Dave, we need to talk.

TG: hello to you too rose

TG: so whats the matter at casa de lalonde

TT: Would I be correct in assuming your Bro's name is Dirk?

TG: is this the only problem

TG: i thought we had a life threatening situation on our hands

TG: turns out you just had some desire to know bros name and couldnt sleep until you knew

TG: but yeah its dirk

TG: why

TT: Shit.

TG: you dont swear often so whats going on here

TG: keep me in the loop wouldnt you

TT: Dave, do you know your brother's age?

TT: This is important, but I'm still not one hundred percent sure that I'm correct. So, age.

TG: hes 29

TG: again why

TT: Oh dear. I had hoped I was mistaken, but that's the correct age.

TG: youre still not telling me whats happening here

TT: Ask your "brother" about Roxy Lalonde. He should be the one to explain to you, not me.

tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]

TG: no dont disconnect on me

TG: im pestering you as soon as ive finished talking to bro

* * *

**AN: And there we go, my first ever Homestuck piece. I apologise if anyone isn't in character, I'm only new to writing them, Dave especially.**

**Anyway, hope this is vaguely enjoyable! Any reviews would be lovely :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Be the confused Knight**

You change your Pesterchum setting to idle, before pushing away from your computer and exiting your room. You were still highly confused by your conversation with Rose, but there seemed to be nothing to do but what she had told you to. Talk to Bro. He's actually home for once, and now was as good a time as any to ask him about this. Leaving your room, you find him sprawled on the couch playing some shit video game. That's a surprise, not. You walk over and flop down next to him, grabbing the remote as you do so, before turning the television off.

"Dude, not cool," he exclaims, throwing his hands into the air.

You ignore his complaint. "Bro, we need to talk."

"If you're having some kind of mid-puberty crisis, I don't give a shit. There are more important things in my life to care about."

You roll your eyes behind your shades. "Bro, being serious here. I need to ask you something."

He seems to have caught onto the fact that this was actually serious, as he places down the controller and shifts to face you. "Okay, I'm all ears. What's up?"

"Who's Roxy? Lalonde."

He freezes. "Never heard of her."

"Bullshit."

He looks at you, then sighs, running a hand over his face. "How do you know that name?"

"Never mind that. So you do know her?"

"Of course I know Roxy; she's probably my closest friend. Why?"

"I don't know, my friend told me to ask," you tell him. So far this wasn't actually going anywhere. "Rose. You know, purple-text wannabe psychologist. The one you talk to sometimes."

"...Please tell me her surname isn't Lalonde."

"It is. Roxy's her mom. So, what's the story here?"

He pauses and turns back to the now off television. You simply sit and wait, knowing he'll start talking soon. After a few minutes, he sighs again, then meets your eyes.

"Okay. Shit. I guess it is time for you to know."

"Know what?"

"Okay. So, you know how whenever you asked about our parents, I'd always give you some cagey bullshit answer that didn't really answer anything?"

"...yes?"

"Well, there's a reason for that. Nothing happened to our parents, but in either case, they're not the same people. I'm... Well, to put it simply...I'm not actually your Bro."

"What."

"Yeah... I'm your dad. I guess I got you to call me Bro since I never felt like I was ready to be a dad, you know? I was only sixteen."

He pauses, and runs a hand through his hair. You can tell he's quite stressed by the situation.

"So, Roxy?" you press.

"She's your mum. Yeah... I was actually meant to have this conversation with you anyway. See, me and Rox have been talking over some stuff, and we've decided we'd like to try again. If it was okay with you and Rose, of course."

"So, is Rose my sister? I'm related to her?"

"She's your twin, to be honest with you. We decided we weren't ready to be a family, so, we took a kid each and split. But, whaddaya say? You cool if we become a big happy family? I mean, you obviously know and like Rose already."

"I... Shit bro, dad, whatever... I'm going to need a bit of time for this to sink in, alright? Just... Just give me a while, will you?"

With that, you stand up and nearly run back to your room, closing the door after yourself. You sink to the floor, sitting dazed for a while. _So, Bro's my dad, huh... wow._

A ping from your computer snaps you out of your stupor, and you pull yourself off the ground to sit at your desk. There's a notification from John flashing on your screen, but at the moment you couldn't care less. You exit out of the conversation window before clicking on Rose's name.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

TG: rose

TG: rose talk to me

TG: come on woman it says youre online

TT: Calm yourself, Dave. I'm here.

TT: I assume you've talked to Bro?

TT: Or should I say, Father?

TG: oh god

TG: please tell me this is some huge prank youre all pulling on me

TG: no offence or anything rose but i dont particularly want to be part of the lalonde family

TG: and thinking about bro being my dad is just weird

TT: Yes, I can understand that. I'm not sure why he'd set himself up as your brother. It was guaranteed to end on an odd note.

TT: But, this isn't a joke. Yourself and I are in fact twin siblings, and Mother and your "Bro" are our parents.

TT: Which now brings us to the current issue.

TG: and what would that be

TT: Whether or not we would like to move in together.

TG: ew

TG: girl cooties

TG: but really apart from the whole wow holy shit i have parents thing

TG: and the wow holy shit im related to rose thing

TG: i have no problem with moving in with you guys

TG: your house is big enough right

TT: We'd have plenty of space, trust me. Especially seeing as I assume Mother and Dirk would be sharing a room.

TG: oh god dont remind me

TG: truth be told i didnt actually think bro was people-sexual

TG: dad

TG: fuck thats going to take a long time to get used to

TT: You'll manage, I'm sure.

TT: But, I'll let you go inform Father that you're okay with the moving.

TT: Do try not to lose your cool over it.

tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]

TG: stop disconnecting on me jesus

TG: fine leave see if i care

You remove your shades before sinking your face into your hands, elbows resting on the desk. _Well, this going to be horrible._

You stand up slowly, replacing your shades and running a hand through your hair to ensure it's in place, then make your way to the door, pushing it open. It creaks slightly, and Bro looks up as you exit your room. Dad. Anyway. You walk back over and sit on the couch again, still tense. He looks at you expectantly.

"Well?" he pushes after a few moments of silence.

"I just talked to Rose. Apparently we're moving?" you reply, crossing your arms.

"Ah, yeah... Would you mind? I know that this is a lot to take in, but... we cool?"

"Yeah, sure. One thing though," you ask.

He raises an eyebrow over his shades. "Shoot."

"Why'd it take so long for you to decide to tell me? I mean, shit, yes, it is a lot to take in, because you've basically just taken the image I've had of you my entire life, and shattered that completely. To state the obvious, "my life is a lie". Look, I guess I'm just disappointed? Did you not trust me enough?"

You see him open his mouth to answer, but you continue.

"Also, the fuck am I supposed to call you now? "Bro" does not cut it anymore," you finish, physically adding the quotation marks.

"Fuck, Dave, now I feel terrible. I do trust you. You're one of the few people who I actually do. It was more my issue... Like I said, I didn't feel ready to be a dad, so I was basically trying to kid myself into forgetting I was one. And I really don't know. Call me dad if you want," he flops his head back to rest on the couch.

"Just warning you, Rose is already calling you Father," you tell him. You think it's a good sign that you're feeling up to verbal quips again. You're still not 100% happy with him, but fuck if you're going to show it. He groans in reply.

"Jesus Christ, that makes me sound old. I'm not old. I'm very much the opposite of old," he rolls his head to the side, meeting your eyes. "So, I take it you're feeling better about this?"

"As much as I'll probably ever be."

* * *

**AN: Aaah this is short and terrible and late ;_;**

**Also I have great difficulty writing Dave, as you may have noticed. Every other Strider/Lalonde, sure, I can do that. But not Dave...**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy :)**

**RnR please**


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